No Bones About It
by Christy W
Summary: Alissa needs to help an old friend when the FBI accuses Duncan of murder. (Alissa's Interests Series #8)
1. Prologue

Title: No Bones About It  
Author: Christy  
Rating: FR 14  
Fandom/Theme: Buffy/Highlander/Bones  
Disclaimer: I own none of the characters featured here. They belong to their respective creators and production companies, though the concept of Alissa is something I came up with.  
Distribution: and TtH  
Spoilers: Takes place during the break between Season 6 and 7 of Bones  
Chapter: 1/7  
Summary: Alissa has to help an old friend when Duncan is charged by the FBI over an old death.

_I'm on vacation! Doesn't that mean anything to some people?_Alissa thought grumpily as she sleepily reached over to grab her cell. "This had better be good at six in the morning when I should be enjoying Corsica."

"Sorry about that, Alissa" Duncan MacLeod told her in his distinctive brogue. "I wouldn't be bothering you on your well-deserved vacation, but I really do need your help."

The tone in his voice had her summoning her tablet and switching his call to speakerphone as she turned her computer on. "What's going on, Mac?" she asked gently while pulling up information on the quickest flights back to the States.

"Well, I'm at the FBI headquarters in DC and they're accusing me of murdering Steven Keane years ago. And since the statute of limitations on murder is never..."

"Yeah, I get the hint," she agreed, mentally scrambling over in what order she should do everything she needed to do now. Taking a deep breath, she turned back to the phone. "I'm going to give a lawyer friend of mine a call to try and help you out until I can get back through Reagan. Just hold on tight until then, okay?"

"Will do, but one more question, my dear- is this a friend of yours I can trust?" Mac asked, more than a little curious.

Alissa grinned as she thought about the chaos about to be unleashed on the unsuspecting FBI office. "Oh, most definitely."


	2. Chapter 1

Title: No Bones About It  
Author: Christy  
Rating: FR 14  
Fandom/Theme: Buffy/Highlander/Bones  
Disclaimer: I own none of the characters featured here. They belong to their respective creators and production companies, though the concept of Alissa is something I came up with.  
Distribution: and TtH  
Spoilers: Takes place during the break between Season 6 and 7 of Bones; you also should *really* read the previous House-centric story to understand what's going on with all this  
Chapter: 2/7  
Summary: Alissa has to help an old friend when Duncan is charged by the FBI over an old death.

"Wolfram and Hart, LA Branch. How may I direct your call?"

"Harmony, it's Alissa MacKenzie. Is Angel busy right now?" the Immortal asked as she began packing hastily.

"He should be free; ummm, lemme check," Harmony replied, putting the other woman on hold. "Hey, Boss, you've got a call."

Pressing the intercom button, Angel's reply was terse. "Harm, I'm a bit occupied right now. I'm discussing something important with Gunn right now."

"I know, boss, but it's Miz MacKenzie, and you always told me to let her through," his secretary reminded him.

Angel glanced over at Charles, who simply shrugged. "Patch it on in, then," he told her with a sigh. Trying to change the status quo of a formerly evil law firm was still slow going for him, especially since all the other branches of Wolfram and Hart were still under the control of the Senior Partners. Punching the speakerphone again, he said "What can I do for my second favorite seer?"

Alissa chuckled. "Don't let Cordelia hear you say that; I just need to know if your firm has anyone with clearance to practice law in the Metro DC area."

Angel frowned as he looked over to his head counsel about the answer.

"Alissa, I don't know about everyone else in the office, but I am," Charles replied as he whipped out a notebook. "What seems to be the problem?"

"Duncan's at the FBI offices in DC and I won't be back there to help until around 9 am East Coast time and since he's still a member of my antiquities staff, even if in mostly a consulting position, I just need counsel there to protect his interests until I can get back," she explained succinctly.

Gunn nodded in understanding. "And you know we can be there in only a couple hours."

"Exactly, and I do so appreciate you guys doing this for me. Now, let me give you what facts Duncan told me already and I'm sure he'll fill you in on the rest when you talk to him in person."

Booth frowned as he glared at the subject currently in the interrogation room. Other than making one call to someone who worked for the MacKenzie Conglomerate, Mr. MacLeod had simply sat there and made notes onto a small notepad.

"What I don't get, _cherie_, is how Dr Brennan and the rest of her team stumbled on this old skeleton case in the first place," Caroline Julian commented as she entered the observation room.

"Hmm? Oh, apparently Dr Hodgins received an anonymous email with information pertaining to where they could find the body and an enclosed photograph that showed the subject here standing over the headless body," Booth explained.

Julian raised a brow at that statement. She looked about ready to comment on Jack and his conspiracy theories when a young black gentleman walked into the observation room. He did a double take at the sight of Seeley, then turned toward Caroline.

"My name is Charles Gunn and I've been retained as counsel for Mr. MacLeod's employer. May I be permitted to confer with my client now?"

Gunn was mentally scrambling on what obscure bits of legal precedent could help in this case. Immortals, as a general rule, didn't care for Wolfram and Hart's usual methods of winning cases, so their lawyers didn't usually have to deal with immortality-based cases. Eternal indemnity clauses, sure, but arguing about Lightning Warriors, as some demon clans called them? Not so much. And then there was also this minor issue of the apparent Angel lookalike, since he knew he'd left the former vampire and Cordelia browsing the shops of Georgetown. He glanced down at his phone when it beeped, revealing the message from Alissa that she would be landing shortly. Looking up at Duncan, he said "Hang tight for a few hours; Alissa just got back. We'll get back as soon as I bring her up to date. I also think we might want to bring Angel by to see you at some point."

The Scotsman grinned. "Oh, yes, I'd love to know what explanation my old friend might have because she wouldn't have requested you guys over Council lawyers without knowing more about this little _coincidence_."

Alissa sat in the living of the house she had in Old Town Alexandria that she was currently lending Angel Investigations while they'd be helping here in town. She lounged back, coolly sipping on her coffee as she watched Gunn pace the length of the room and back.

"So what do we know about the case so far?" she asked, setting her drink back down.

"The FBI said that one of their liaisons that works for the Jeffersonian received an anonymous tip that lead them to where MacLeod had buried the body," Charles explained, accepting a small glass of brandy from Cordelia.

Alissa pursed her lips in frustration. "I find that highly unlikely, since I know that the man in question was a head he took over 15 years ago. Granted, there's no statue of limitations on murder, but why this murder? Why now? Hell, Mac's spent the better half of the past 20 years in Paris with Amanda! Don't tell me someone doesn't have a obvious grudge against an Immortal- we've seen it before," she pointed out.

"My only issue right now is why go after Duncan instead of me or you?" Cordelia put in, sitting down on the arm of Angel's chair.

"Because not everyone in both parts of the Watchers Council is aware about you bargaining for Angel's eternal happiness and the subsequent...award from the Powers, nor the fact of how old Alissa truly is," Gunn informed her.

Turning to Alissa, he asked "Does Mr. Dawson or Mr. Giles know if the information came from them or from an outside source?"

The older brunette shook her head. "I don't know yet, but I'll ask them to find out. In the meantime, was there anything else about the case you think I should know about before I take back first chair?"

"I know something I'd like to know and I'm sure the immortal duo over here might like to as well - what the hell is going on with this double of Angel running around as an FBI agent?" Gunn demanded, slamming his drink down on the table.

Taking a sip of her drink before answering, Alissa merely leaned forward and, tapping a code into the device, queued up a document and handed the device to Angel and Cordelia. Charles started reading over their shoulder, then looked up at her, stunned.

"They cloned him? When the fuck was that?" Cordelia demanded, standing up and waving the tablet in her friend's face. "It's an invasion of his very self! Not only do they have him working with scum- granted, we're trying to change all that- but they managed to rape him of his DNA too?"

Alissa winced as Cordelia waved the priceless E device around. "Uh, Cord, first, try to be careful with that- it's a prototype I'm working on, so try not to break it, please?"

"Shit!" Cordelia exclaimed, gently laying the tablet back on the coffee table.

Picking it back up, Alissa scrolled through the files until she got to the inception strand, showed it to her fellow Immortal. "Wolfram and Hart knew of the Shanshu prophecy back in the 1980s- they just didn't have a copy of it yet. They just had to wait until Angel got within reach to grab his DNA, since this was mainly a task for the LA branch."

"But why then? Buffy was only a baby!" Cordelia exclaimed.

Alissa grinned. "Seers work for both sides, Cordelia. Wolfram and Hart had a prophecy about the vampire with a soul meeting a Slayer and saving her. But as for Agent Booth, it was a matter of implanted memories. You all know what that's like," she said, dripping with sarcasm.

"So, we have a clone of Angel out there whose life before 1990 is a magical construct," Gunn surmised. "What has Agent Booth been up to besides working for the FBI, Miss I-Like-To-Keep-My-Cards-Close?"

Alissa shrugged. "I was hoping it wouldn't come up. Jareth and I stumbled upon it by accident when we went to Fiji to find the cure for Buffy and Faith last year with Doctor House," she explained, wincing at the memory of Remy's phone call about the doctor's arrest and imprisonment. "I only found out the clone placed was Agent Booth and his connection to all of this when Torres mentioned it in passing when checking in with Joe about Loker," she continued, smirking at the memory of how fast her husband and former lover had become friends.

Angel, who'd been silently taking everything in up to this point, leaned forward and asked "So what, exactly, did you have in mind for this case, because I assume from the way you say it that you expect the two of us to meet eventually."

Alissa grinned, pushed the tablet into the middle of the table and began explaining her plan of attack.


	3. Chapter 2

Title: No Bones About It  
Author: Christy  
Rating: FR 14  
Fandom/Theme: Buffy/Highlander/Bones  
Disclaimer: I own none of the characters featured here. They belong to their respective creators and production companies, though the concept of Alissa is something I came up with.  
Distribution: and TtH  
Spoilers: Takes place during the break between Season 6 and 7 of Bones; you also should *really* read the previous House-centric story to understand what's going on with all this  
Chapter: 3/7  
Summary: Alissa has to help an old friend when Duncan is charged by the FBI over an old death.

In the end, everyone came to the agreement that they'd keep Angel under wraps for the time being, and wait until they needed to explain the supernatural side of things to Booth. As Cordelia had put it, "There's just too much of it tied to this case to NOT have the supernatural rear its ugly head at some point. And let's not forget how absolutely **peaceful**that side of the world can be!"

All of that decided, Alissa was now currently in the conference room at the FBI building. She was discussing the relevance of finding out where the tip had come from and what information, exactly, said tip expressed that currently had her friend cooling his heels in jail with Caroline Julian. The federal prosecutor, however, was still visibly irritated when she'd found out that Charles worked for Wolfram and Hart. Alissa could tell without even bothering to read Caroline that the lawyers of the Wolfram and Hart DC office had already cut a path of chaos and lost convictions and she was just getting the backlash for asking for his help on her case.

Deciding to take the bull by the horns, she glanced over at Gunn before leaning toward Julian. "I understand that you don't particularly care for my co-counsel's place of employment, buT I guarantee that if you call the FBI office in LA, you'll find the LA branch of Wolfram and Hart is under separate and utterly different management then the rest of the company since Mr. Liam Chase took over over a decade ago. I wouldn't have had one of their best trial lawyers fly across the country if I trusted the methods of ANYONE here in the local Wolfram and Hart office."

Mildly mollified by her vehement statement, Caroline nodded to herself and passed over a folder with printouts of the email and its accompanying photograph. Alissa read through it, then passed it off to Gunn who also read it carefully:

_**How well do you know your friends and coworkers? This man has helped spread chaos and blood on two continents, but there's a way to catch him right now.**_

Lips pursed from irritation, Alissa looked up at the prosecutor. "How did you go from an email and photo to charging Ma-my client?"

"Our facial recognition expert aged the man in the photo from 5-20 years older and put the results into the national recognition database and Mr. MacLeod's face popped up almost immediately. Then, when agents went to his house, he gave them unsatisfactory answers to their questions. They brought him here for more detailed questioning, at which time he apparently called you."

Alissa mentally breathed a sigh of relief- questioned, but not charged yet. "Have you had your techs try tracking the I.P. Address of the email yet?" she asked, eyes narrowing as her own question triggered the nagging suspicion she'd seen something similar before and asked the same thing to be done.

"We didn't feel the need at the time, considering Mr. MacLeod was merely a person of interest when we initially questioned him," Caroline declared.

A shark's grin on her face, Alissa leaned forward again. "Well then, I would like to have my technical staff examining everything about this email as soon as possible, because it would be a shame if there was fraud involved in this accusation against my client."

Caroline gave them the information on Dr. Hodgins and called ahead to let the staff at the Jeffersonian know Mr. MacLeod's lawyers were coming by.

Alissa couldn't help but wince in sympathy when first introduced to Dr. Temperance Brennan, since she knew how uncomfortable the second trimester of pregnancy could be. She was cordial when introduced to Angela Hodgins, although Angela's husband seemed understandably on edge. Jack had already made grumbles about the need for verification when Alissa had arrived with two techs from her computer division. Once they got into the mainframe, they'd told the boss that it should take no more than an hour or so to process it back to the source. So, Alissa had decided to kill some of that time finding out what Angela's baby that she raved on was all about. Remembering similar conversations with Dr. Epps when he and Amita had mentioned to Alissa that they were having a baby, she mentioned Charlie's name to Angela, who mentioned that he'd visited when they'd upgraded the facial recognition software at the Jeffersonian. Angela even loaded up a recent picture of Alissa into the computer and made the Immortal grin at what she should look like in ten years.

_Thank you, Charlie, for clearing me out of the database!_she thought with a sigh of relief. They were both busy comparing notes on the difference between raising boys and girls when one of her techs came into the room, results printout in hand. She thanked him absently as she began scanning through the information provided.

Angela noticed her spine stiffen for a moment before turning around and thanking the young mother for her hospitality.

Walking steadily over to the rest of the scientists she did the same thing, while simultaneously whipping out her cell and pressing a speed dial. Hodgins just shook his head at her whirlwind entrance and exit. Glancing down at the Jeffersonian's copy, he glanced back up at the rest of the team. "Why would the email coming from DC be such a big surprise?"

The moment she was back in her car, Alissa switched the call she'd been on over to Bluetooth. "Rupert, how the fuck did this happen? I just found out the IP address responsible for the email that has Mac in holding came from the Council headquarters here in DC! I'm not trying to pull rank on you of all people, but could you please have all the wards checked immediately? I really would like to know who the hell it was, how the hell they got in and how the fuck they got a hold of Mac's diaries. I know I'm merely an adviser right now but-" she started before Giles cut her off.

"Alissa, you have nothing to apologize for- this is a good friend of yours and someone who has helped out both Councils on a number of occasions. We'll get right on it- not to worry."

Alissa sighed as she took the roundabout towards Anacostia. "Who would be this cruel? I mean, I know and have seen how evil some people can get, but to deliberately out an Immortal? That's a special kind of sadism. Would you like me to swing by and help?"

Giles waved that idea away while also directing one of the mid-level mages to start checking the perimeter wards. "Go home and relax with your family. I'll ring you when we're done."


	4. Chapter 3

Title: No Bones About It  
Author: Christy  
Rating: FR 14  
Fandom/Theme: Buffy/Highlander/Bones  
Disclaimer: I own none of the characters featured here. They belong to their respective creators and production companies, though the concept of Alissa is something I came up with.  
Distribution: and TtH  
Spoilers: Takes place during the break between Season 6 and 7 of Bones; you also should *really* read the previous House-centric story to understand what's going on with all this  
Chapter: 4/7  
Summary: Alissa has to help an old friend when Duncan is charged by the FBI over an old death.

She had actually had time to go out to the movies with her daughter and was back home in bed already before there was a pounding on her front door.

Throwing on a robe, she ran down, dagger in one pocket. She'd barely managed to clear the wards and open the door before Giles came barreling through in a tearing fury. She calmly followed behind his marching into her study, pouring himself a double shot of her twenty year old single malt and downing it in one swallow. He grimaced slightly as he repeated the process, though thankfully, he merely sipping on his second one. Alissa simplyraised a brow at his actions while wandering over and pouring herself a small glass of wine in the meantime.

"So, what did you find out, Rupert?" she asked, taking a seat behind her desk.

"Well, for one thing, I've concluded that the Councils need to start doing a combination of magical and electronic checkpoints, much as I still hate those dreaded machines," he informed her as she grinned. But that grin was wiped off her face and replaced with a look of fury close to his own at the Watcher's next words. "You know why? Because Ethan Rayne managed to waltz right through the wards as if he was a Watcher in training and put all this nonsense into play."

Alissa clenched her teeth as she swiveled over to her address book, glanced through it quickly and punched a number into her desk phone. "Yes, this is Alissa MacKenzie. I'd like to speak to First Sergeant Finn, please," she requested, her voice slowly edging colder and colder. She waited a moment while on hold as Rupert just watched in growing admiration. While he knew the Council had deeper pockets than Alissa could obviously show, her connections were unparallelled, mainly because, unlike the Council, she had always understood the value of maintaining both mundane and supernatural resources.

"Hello, Riley. How are things in Guam? Well, you see, we seem to have a little problem on our hands back here in DC. Why? Oh, I'm here right now due to a friend of mine being in trouble. Well, see, here's the odd part, _Sergeant_- the man who is trying to have my friend charged with murder shouldn't be able to, because the last time I'd checked, Ethan Rayne was **supposed**to still be contained in goddamned Leavenworth!"

Finn held the receiver away from his ear, wincing at her volume and in anticipation of her next question. "Well, um, after that portion of the Initiative was disbanded and when the General was reprimanded, they found a loophole in Rayne's case due to the supernatural aspect of things and got him released."

Alissa's next words were said in a tone so soft and deadly, Riley could barely hear her at first. "So, you didn't think that it might be advisable to notify those of us in the supernatural community who helped put him there in the first place?! I mean, seriously, Riley, I would have thought you would have boned up on studying magical theory after how close you and Sam came to losing that baby after your one covert mission! So, what I really would love you to do right now is to use what braincells you have left and find him! I'm not having Duncan saddled with murder charges because your cornfed ass dropped the fucking ball- this man was a Chaos Mage for a reason!"

"Look, Alissa, I'm sorry- I truly am. No one let us know this guy was that bad. So, what else do you want me to do for make up for it?" he begged, motioning to his secretary for pen and paper, writing down the instructions and suggestions as she laid them out.

Meanwhile, in another part of DC, a man came upon a young woman crying on a bench. "You know, ladies shouldn't be in the park late at night all alone. You never know what might happen," he said with a sneer as a sword appeared in his hand, heading for her head. She quickly deflected it with the one she was carrying, but it was obvious to him her reflexes were a little off.

"Next time, when I say you need more training time, simply do it instead of running off and pouting. Yes, They may have drummed you out as not fit, but you'll recover and pay them back in kind."

"Why not go after Angelus right now then? He's here right now with that slut of his and a body double of his own," she asked him with a pout.

"Not to worry my dear- I already have an associate working with dealing on that issue, leaving us time to train and research. This is not a task to be done lightly or in haste; we must make sure to do it in such a way that the other Slayers are too late to stop us from the eventual transference ritual when the timing is right next year," he calmly explained to his apprentice. Much like his own mentor, he didn't much care to work with women, but when a singular opportunity such as this presented itself, a little thing like gender could be overlooked in favor of molding an impressionable protegee.

Giles woke up the next morning to find Alissa in the kitchen, already hard at work with legal briefs and strong coffee. Remembering how she normally did things from when she'd occasionally helped them out while in Sunnydale, he raided her fridge, pleased to find kippers, lox and bagels all stocked. "I swear, Alissa, you've always been too kind," he commented as he started warming a pan up on the stove.

She merely shrugged and smirked. "And you think _I_wouldn't enjoy lox as well?" she asked with a chuckle. "Besides, many years experience trying to feed an army...the Scooby Gang? Child's play, though Alexander did tend to worry me a mite as a teenager."

Rupert chuckled as he sat down. "I learned to keep Twinkie boxes hidden around the house when he was staying with me. So what are you plotting now?"

"Well, the fact that Mac is only being held for questioning at this point means that the evidence they've collected isn't enough to conclusively tie him there and if they're smart, they know that I'll tear the ID based on any anonymous tip and a single photograph to shreds."

"And what about Ethan? Any word yet from the US Army?" he asked, taking a bite of his toast.

"Just that they're trying to track him down...I assume he has ways to keep you from tracking him with magic?"

Giles nodded reluctantly. "The wanker has wised up since the last time we met. Bloody hell, if I didn't know better, I'd think he had help."

Alissa smirked deviously. "Never discount that thought, just yet. A slimy bastard like him? He'd use whatever connections he can find to get what he wants. Just think about Mr. Trick and the band candy," she reminded him, grinning at his wince.

"That was an unfortunate incident that I would prefer to put behind me," Giles told her stiffly.

"Rupert," she said, the grin still evident in her voice, "things like that happen. Remind me to tell you about the time Duncan and I raided the MacLeod distillery. We would put the chaos of your Band Candy incident to shame. But, to get back to the point at hand, we need to know where Ethan is now. We can't get him out until we have that little Chaos Mage telling the FBI how he framed Mac."


	5. Chapter 4

Title: No Bones About It  
Author: Christy  
Rating: FR 14  
Fandom/Theme: Buffy/Highlander/Bones  
Disclaimer: I own none of the characters featured here. They belong to their respective creators and production companies, though the concept of Alissa is something I came up with.  
Distribution: and TtH  
Spoilers: Takes place during the break between Season 6 and 7 of Bones; you also should *really* read the previous House-centric story to understand what's going on with all this  
Chapter: 5/7  
Summary: Alissa has to help an old friend when Duncan is charged by the FBI over an old death.

Booth was busy making notes on the MacLeod case when Brennan came running into his office. "Thank goodness you're here. I could've sworn I saw you across town with that LA model," she blurted out, hugging him when he came around to comfort her.

"You thought I was where?" he asked her, bewildered, as he had her sit down in one of the office chairs to diminish the stress on the baby. "Bones, being worked up isn't great for the little one. Now, where did you think you saw me at?"

"I was in Georgetown, looking over baby clothes and bassinets, since we both need to make sure the baby's safe and warm. Then I saw you down by the food court with a woman someone nearby commented was the LA model Cordelia Chase. But it couldn't have been you," she said absently with a thoughtful look. "His hair was all different and he seemed a little paler than I've ever seen you, but his basic bone structure was the same."

A little confused and concerned himself at this point, he gently laid a hand on her shoulder. "Bones, if it'll make you feel better, we'll go talk to Angela and have her scan me into the computer system and show you I'm the only one with my bone structure out there, okay?"

Angela started scratching her head long before the analysis was complete. "I know I believe that there _might_ be a twin of everyone somewhere out there on this planet, but it looks like this might really be the case with Booth here," she told the couple curiously, showing Booth the side by side comparison with him on one side and a man in a timestamped photo from LA on the other side. "And since we all know where **you**were five months ago," Angela told him drily, glancing down at Brennan's burgeoning stomach, "That then begs the question- who is this guy?"

"That's the head of Wolfram and Hart LA," Jack told them confidently as he came in with his latest batch of evidence for Dr. Brennan to look over. "The Cantilever Group has had to deal with Wolfram and Hart a few times, though talks out on the West Coast got a LOT easier after that guy took over."

Everyone just turned and stared at him in awe and/or shock. "What? I just thought it was a coincidence that he and Booth looked alike. But same bone structure? I smell a BIG rat here now."

Angela rolled her eyes goodnaturedly at her husband with the penchant for conspiracy theories. Booth looked back and forth between the couple. "So what do you think I should do? Bones here was freakin' out not an hour ago, and I remember how bad that was for Rebecca."

Angela smiled comfortingly at her frentic friend. "I would say start by finding out how long he's been in Washington and why and go from there."

Angel and Cordelia were relaxing after dinner with Gunn, since Alissa was busy tracking down leads, when his cellphone rang. Cordelia smirked as he answered it and then glanced over at Gunn. "Whose idea was it to program _We Are the Champions_when the office calls?" Charles just chuckled and shrugged as Angel asked Harmony what she wanted. "What do you mean the FBI wants to know where I'm staying in Washington and for how long?"

"Well, um, boss, not sure if it makes a difference or not, but it was Agent Seeley Booth who wanted to know the information" his secretary responded softly.

Angel glanced over at his friends, eyebrows raised as he ended the phone call. "Agent Booth wanted to know? Where did he say he wanted us to meet, because I have a feeling we'd like it a little bit on the private side, wouldn't you think?"

"I've been wanting to try this restaurant for months, Booth," Temperance murmured as he tried to look around and locate where exactly Liam Chase might be. Glancing around at the décor as the maître d' lead them to their table, he muttered back "Not sure if I'd be able to treat you on my paycheck, Bones."

His girlfriend merely shrugged. "I can; it'll be fine."

Rolling his eyes about trying to explain to her about the male ego and paying for dinner, they came to a private dining room, where Liam, Cordelia Chase and the lawyer helping Alissa MacKenzie on the MacLeod case sat sipping on drinks.

Booth smirked as he sat down and the waiter set the menu in front of him as he asked the agent's drink preference. "I see how this works- you bring a lawyer in to work the MacLeod case and then decide that upsetting Dr Brennan would just help things along?"

Angel grinned back. "Far from it, Agent Booth. I was unaware I had a double, let's say, until a friend of mine requested the use of my best trial lawyer for one of her employees. And since I hadn't seen Mrs. MacKenzie since her wedding two, three years ago, my wife and I decided to tag along with Charles, but merely to visit an old friend."

They had all ordered and food been served before Brennan added to the conversation. "Mr. Chase, if it's at all true that you've never met Agent Booth before, than how to do you account for all the apparent similarities in your bone structure?" Off of the trio's look, she explained about being a forensic anthropologist and also having glimpsed what she now knew was Angel and Cordelia earlier the day before.

"Well, you could say that we have similar ancestry," Angel stated, but Brennan began shaking her head at the idea before he'd even finished the sentence.

"That might account for up to 60% similarities, but not the 90th percentile we got when Angela compared the both of you," she insisted.

Angel sighed and threw up his hands in surrender as Cordelia shot a look at Gunn, which Booth caught onto. "Okay, what's that Look for? I know a Look when I see one."

"Quite simply, Agent Booth," Gunn said solemnly "We are as yet unsure how you both will take our information about this occurrence considering how...rooted you both are in the scientific process."

"Look, I know Bones is the scientist and all, but even as a good Catholic boy, I've seen things as a Ranger that had me questioning things," he told the lawyer, hearing Cordelia whisper something that sounded like "Looks like the veil covered everything", but he wasn't sure.

"If it weren't for Dr Brennan's pregnancy we would be able to do this as part of a regular patrol associates of ours do most nights, but considering that pregnancy is a beacon for those in the dark, I would suggest you follow us for a controlled demonstration and explanation as to what is so confusing you at this time. You may either travel with us or in your own vehicle as is your wont," Gunn informed them calmly.

Bones glanced over at her lover and partner, then back to the group in front of her. "I think we'll take our own vehicle, thanks."


	6. Chapter 5

Title: No Bones About It  
Author: Christy  
Rating: FR 14  
Fandom/Theme: Buffy/Highlander/Bones  
Disclaimer: I own none of the characters featured here. They belong to their respective creators and production companies, though the concept of Alissa is something I came up with.  
Distribution: and TtH  
Spoilers: Takes place during the break between Season 6 and 7 of Bones; you also should *really* read the previous House-centric story to understand what's going on with all this  
Chapter: 5/6  
Summary: Alissa has to help an old friend when Duncan is charged by the FBI over an old death.

"What did they mean by me being pregnant being a beacon for things in the dark?" Bones demanded the moment they were in their car and following the Chase's SUV.

"I'm not entirely sure, babe, but I've got an idea. See, there were a few nights in Afghanistan that sometimes we'd have a private or two go AWOL and never hear what happened to them. I'm not saying anything by it, but still, it always seemed funny to me at the time, ya know?" Booth explained as they parked by a warehouse and both got out.

"You're not honestly going to try and convince me that the things Russ used to try and scare me about as a kid are real!" Brennan told him, incredulous.

"_There's more to heaven and Earth, Horatio,_" Gunn quoted as the group walked up to the panel in the wall so Angel could do the retinal scan and fingerprinting.

"What kind of place is this that you need that kind of security?" Booth asked as he looked around the inside of the warehouse. It seemed pretty typical, if a little underused, judging by the level of dust on most of the visible crates.

"One moment," Angel told them as he punched a code into a nearby keypad. All of a sudden, the entire panel the group was standing on began to lower into the housing of the warehouse until they stood facing a concrete hallway.

"Right this way, please," Gunn requested with a wave of his hand as Cordelia started heading ahead of them towards the only door that was visible. Once inside the observation gallery, the group could see down to a lower level where there was a young brunette woman lying asleep on the bare floor.

"What kind of bullshit is this?" Booth exploded. "Why the hell is she here and what did you do to her?"

"Calm down, Agent Booth. As we said, there would be a demonstration- this is it. As for what kind of place this is- it's one of many training facilities across the globe owned and operated by the IWC," Cordelia explained calmly. Picking up the phone on the wall, she said "We're ready for Maria now. Hopefully she's been boning up on her hand to hand combat."

Booth and Brennan watched as another girl, about the same age as the first one, came in. As she did, the other one peeked her head up, then jumped to her feet, hissing "Slayer" at the blonde. "I should have known Mike's deal was too good to be true! Ready to die like your sister now, are ya, sweetie?"

Maria smirked. "Nah, I've been working on things; Faith gives good pointers," she replied as the brunette's face changed and she charged.

"Wha-what did I just see? Did you see that, Booth?" Bones exclaimed as he simply nodded.

"So, the vampire I saw that night **was**real," he muttered, causing his girlfriend to stare at him in shock and the Chases to merely nod and smile, while Booth just nodded his head at Bones to watch the fight down below them. Maria was doing a pretty good job of holding her own, and finally getting the upper hand, whipped out a stake and quickly ended things.

Meanwhile, Gunn was busy leading the shocked anthropologist to a nearby chair. "Yes, Doctor Brennan, that was a vampire- just one of the many supernatural things present in the world today that not everyone is aware of. However, that's not the only reason things happen the way they do." Standing back up, he pulled a tablet out of his briefcase and handed it over to Booth. "We had to show you that example first to gauge if you handle the supernatural knowledge necessary for the explanation you'd both requested," the lawyer continued as everyone sat around the small table off in one corner of the room.

"So, the information on this tablet pertains to why they have such bone similarities?" Temperance asked, some of her color starting to come back.

"Yes. To put it simply, back when the LA branch of Wolfram and Hart was run by Holland Manners in the late 1980s, they conceived a plan as a fail-safe should they be unable to convince Angel, Liam here, to come around to their way of thinking. To that end, they took DNA from him and cloned him. One clone was deemed viable enough and with the help of a complicated magic memory spell to explain to everyone he interacted with that he'd been around far longer than his initial appearance in 1992, you were 'born'," Gunn told them solemnly, though the light in his eyes reflected the anger he felt about what they'd done to his friend.

Seeley sat there and stared at the data in front of him, mind reeling at the implications. "So I was created by these bastards to take over if things didn't work out with Mr. Chase? Only the past twenty years of my life are mine? This is complete and utter bullshit! Come on, Bones- we're out of here."

Temperance sat in the car, going over the data pad Cordelia had pressed into her hands as Booth had practically dragged her away. Seeley merely sat beside her and drove while he seethed.

"I wish I could find a scientific explanation. Anthropologically speaking-"

"I really DON'T want to hear the anthropological reasons for someone supposedly CREATING me from that guy. It's crap, Bones! It's nothing but fucking crap," he declared, slamming his palm on the steering wheel.

"But you already knew about vampires- what makes sense about that?" she countered.

"Demons, Bones, demons. That's what makes vampires, and I was brought up Catholic- demons are part of the package. **My**package, not some stupid magical construct," he insisted, parking in front of her condo. "Look, go inside, lock yourself in and I'll be back a little later."

"Why? Where are you going?" Bones demanded nervously.

"I'm gonna go talk to our friendly neighborhood former shrink. I don't wanna risk Sweets going all fanboy about this, but I have to talk to _someone_," he insisted and then was gone.

Caroline Julian was not a very happy prosecutor at the moment. Camille had called her saying that Dr. Brennan was having some issues with the body in the MacLeod case. Unfortunately, Mrs MacKenzie caught her on the way out and had declared she was tagging along. The younger woman was already upstairs doing paperwork while Brennan's team filled Caroline in on the bad news. "What do you mean the bones had to have been planted?" she demanded.

"When I closely examined the bones to determine the approximate age, the markers of when and where this man lived were all wrong, showing evidence that he had lived over 200 years ago, although the carbon dating results were inconclusive," Brennan reluctantly informed her.

Julian threw up her hands in frustration. "So we have this body where the tip told us it would be, but the body is too old to be the one we need and I assume you checked the area for any other bodies already. And Mrs. MacKenzie already found that the email was sent from an international embassy?" She sighed as she headed towards the stairs up. "I'll go tell the defense the good news."

After thanking Caroline for the good news, Alissa wandered down to Doctor Brennan's office, having a couple of things she wanted to ask Temperance before she left.

Bones watched the lawyer that was sitting in her office, her mind still occupied with the misdating of the remains and concern for Booth. She hadn't seen him since their fight the night before, which, while not unusual for him, still was bothering her a bit. _It's probably due to my increased hormone production because of the pregnancy,_she thought as she walked into her office.

"Dr Brennan, thank you for taking the time to see me," Alissa began.

"Cam said you had something to discuss with me," she commented matter of factly.

Alissa nodded. "Just so." Pulling a vial out of her purse, she laid it on the desk. "If you could, I would like you to please enter this DNA into your database and flag it if it should come up in another case. The reason I'm asking you is that I need this to be officially notified, so that he can't slip through the cracks again."

Brennan picked up the vial of blood and examined it, noting the **E. Rayne**on the label and the DOJ symbol as well. "Why should I and where did you get this?" she demanded.

"I received it from some of my US Army connections and because this is the DNA of the man who is _really_the main reason your case against Mr. MacLeod was such a debacle. He broke into the embassy by masquerading as an employee and when I tried to track him down to get him to testify to the framing he'd done on my client, he had vanished. This sample was taken during his time at Leavenworth due to issues on a military base out in Sunnydale California."

"How could he escape Leavenworth? It's the most secure military prison in the States," Bones said, amazed.

"Simply that the general in charge of the Sunnydale base was severely reprimanded by his superiors after everything there went pear-shaped, so most of his arrests were scrutinized and Rayne was released. As for my other piece of business, I just wanted to say I'm sorry that my discovery of what Wolfram and Hart had done to Agent Booth has caused you both pain."

"How did you come across that information in the first place? I had it understood that your company didn't care to work with Wolfram and Hart," Brennan countered.

Alissa smirked. "MOST of Wolfram and Hart, yes, but the LA branch is a bit of an...anomaly in the organization since Liam took over. But finding out previous management had done what they did?" She shook her head in derision. "I must say though, I'm a little surprised that an empirical scientist such as yourself is accepting all of this so readily."

Temperance smiled sadly. "I saw the medical evidence from what Mrs. Chase showed me and there's still no reasonable explanation I can come up with that explains the percentage of similarities- it flies in the face of the normal probables."

Alissa nodded sagely. "And how is Agent Booth taking this?" she asked kindly.

"Not as well as I would like," the other woman replied softly.


	7. Chapter 6

Title: No Bones About It  
Author: Christy  
Rating: FR 14  
Fandom/Theme: Buffy/Highlander/Bones  
Disclaimer: I own none of the characters featured here. They belong to their respective creators and production companies, though the concept of Alissa is something I came up with.  
Distribution: and TtH  
Spoilers: Takes place during the break between Season 6 and 7 of Bones; you also should *really* read the previous House-centric story to understand what's going on with all this  
Chapter: 7/7  
Summary: Alissa has to help an old friend when Duncan is charged by the FBI over an old death.

Booth wandered over to the garden area of Gordon's house, remembering how the former psychiatrist had coerced him into building the older man's barbecue grill the first time they'd met. Just then, Gordon came out, tea tray in hand. "Ah, Agent Booth, so good of you to drop by. Care for some tea?" he asked, his shrewd eyes quickly taking in the worry and confusion on the younger man's face.

"Yeah, yeah, that'll work," Booth responded absently.

"Is something troubling you, Agent Booth? I may no longer practice, but that doesn't mean I cannot still lend a friendly ear," he commented softly as Booth sat down by him with a sigh.

Running his hands up and down his face, Seeley simply stared at him at first. "I'm not sure if you'll believe me, Doc. And I know if I take this to Sweets, he'll want to go find out if it was true and probably get hurt."

Wyatt raised a brow at that comment. "And why would you assume that I wouldn't be like young Doctor Sweets and feel like running off to verify things, as you say?"

Booth shrugged, struggling to try and find the right words. "Well, because you're older, more experienced; hell, British stiff upper lip and all that shit. You wouldn't think me crazy for seeing a vampire getting dusted."

"Aha," Gordon said with a nod. "Now I'm beginning to understand this a little more readily. Tell me, Booth, was this the first time you'd seen a vampire staked?"

"Say what?" Booth demanded, so Gordon repeated his question. "Well, uh the group I was with at the time said it was a controlled environment exercise, uh, staking because they didn't want to worry about showing us a vamp staking on patrol on account of Bones being pregnant and all. But, I'd heard things and had a few squadmates go missing when I was stationed overseas. So how do you know about them?"

Wyatt smirked. "Do you remember how, a couple years ago, I was working with Interpol for sometime?" Off of Booth's nod, he continued. "While I was there helping with the forensic psychiatry side of things in the wake of the bombings in and around London, I was read in, I believe you Yanks call it that, about the main reason the chaos in London and, frankly, all over the world, was lessened. Representatives for the IWC, which is apparently the rebuilt Watchers Councils of old, came by to explain to our group why Interpol, the European Union, the United Nations and, to a lesser extent due to previous issues the current Council administration has with the US government, are all here to help sidestep the issue on certain supernatural related cases. Now, granted, there are small pockets of government funded projects that specialize in supernatural issues, such as Torchwood 3 in Wales, but by and large, for the most part, the IWC and their allies are the final line of defense against vampires, demons, and other assorted evils that the common man is unable to cope with. That all being said, you seem rather understanding about the whole vampire issue, so what is really bothering you tonight?"

Booth started to explain and about halfway through his narrative, Gordon excused himself, got up and went inside, coming back out with a Baccarat rocks glass half filled with amber liquid. "I feel this explanation calls for some Middleton at this point," he explained as Booth knocked half of it back in one go.

"Wow, um, good whisky" he croaked out before finding enough voice to continue. Once he was finished, he sat back, sipping on the other half of his drink while Gordon processed it all.

"My first question is, what do you plan to do with this knowledge? Regardless of how you came about in the first place, how you have decided to live your life for the past twenty years has been a collection of decisions you yourself have made. So your DNA is from someone else- all humans are a sum of what they are born with and how you are nurtured. What you learned and utilized in your life shaped the man you are today. Don't let he fact it started from a spell detract from all the good you've done in your life," the chef told him.

Booth nodded and, thanking him, wandered back to his car while Gordon reached into his pocket and pressed speeddial on his cordless. "Ah yes, Dr Brennan? He was just here but I do believe that the matter is mostly resolved now."

Temperance thanked him profusely and the Englishman marveled, as he enjoyed his own Middleton in the twilight, how much motherhood seemed to be softening her.

He hated bugs, he really did, but other than basics, he really couldn't afford right now to live in an area where people would pay attention to him and his habits. Just then, the phone in his useless excuse for a hotel room rang and he answered with a terse "What now?"

"Well, obviously, Mr Rayne, your plan to discredit Mr MacLeod as a prelude to getting the International Watchers Council under more scrutiny backfired and now they are aware you were released, since that Staff Sergeant former boyfriend of the Queen Slayer still stays in contact with them. So now we get to do things MY way, so you get to go hide in Virginia a little while longer. I'll tell you when I need you," the fellow mage growled out and Ethan, already knowing he was the superior practioner, readily agreed.

**Not to worry, folks...this is a two parter with NCIS next...will post it as I write it~ Christy**


End file.
